DA Soares defaulted on $1,200 student loan for Albany Law School for nearly 11 years

District Attorney David Soares went roughly 11 years without paying Albany Law School monthly installments for a 1999 student loan — and was served with a summons.

The incumbent Democrat, who faces Albany attorney Lee Kindlon in Thursday’s primary, was ordered to pay $2,443 in a Dec. 1, 2010 decision by City Court Judge Gary Stiglemeier, according to documents reviewed by the Times Union.

Soares finally settled the matter on July 22, 2011, but only after being threatened to have his wages withheld, the documents show.

Soares took out the Albany Law School Trustees Loan Program loan on Jan. 29, 1999. It required he make payments of $54.27 every month. His promissory note allowed for the addition of late charges at 5 percent interest, plus attorney fees, if the money was not repaid.

A June 11, 2010 complaint by the school noted that Soares had not made any payments on the loan since July 27, 2000, Joseph Lorigo, the school’s attorney, stated in court papers.

On July 16, 2010 a summons was presented to Soares by then-Undersheriff Craig Apple, documents show.

“Under the terms of the promissory note, the defendant has defaulted,” Victor E. Rauscher, the vice president for finance and business at Albany Law School, stated in an Aug. 19, 2010 affidavit.

That December, Stiglmeier ruled in the school’s favor.

In a statement, Soares campaign manager Kathleen Campbell said, “Like many students David Soares got caught up in bureaucratic red tape not realizing that all his student loans were not consolidated and when he confirmed that one bill was outstanding after a period of dispute, he paid it in full.”

Campbell added: “Here are the real facts: When David left law school all his loans were bundled into one loan. For some reason a loan of $1,200 was not included. David got something in the mail about it from the law school and he contested that legitimacy of the loan thinking that all his loans were bundled, including this one.

“In 2007 David moved and did not receive the correspondence the law school was sending regarding the loan. It went to collections and finally they contacted David at his new address. Once it was clear that this $1,200 was not part of the original bundle, he paid the bill in full including taxes and penalties – $2,400 in total. This matter never went to court.”

Well, suffice to say that last sentence is not the case – documents show Stiglmeier issued the judgment on Dec. 1, 2010.

Meanwhile, Kindlon had sent an email about Soares’ default on the loan to media outlets on Tuesday. In her statement, Campbell tore into the opposing candidate.

“This press release by Lee Kindlon shows why he is not ready to be our district attorney,” she wrote. “He lacks judgment. He attacks without foundation.”

That wasn’t all she wrote, but Campbell, despite those remarks, took issue with mudslinging on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

“Finally, 9/11 is a day for prayer and reflection, not mudslinging,” she stated. ”Mr. Kindlon twisting half-truths on this day of remembrance is conduct unbecoming an officer much less a gentleman.”

In response, Kindlon’s campaign manager, Eddie Ayala, told the Times Union: “There’s just no excuse for a sitting DA to not only be in default for ten years and be sued by the law school, but to ignore the court completely and to ignore the law school, that shows that this DA thinks he’s above the law.”

29 Responses

I’m not even a Soares fan but this is dumb. The same thing happened with me with my $2k trustees loan from the law school. They never sent me anything until the collections notice and since I had a bunch of other loans that were consolidated I didn’t even know about it. It never showed up on my credit score or the Department of Ed’s loan web site. It was also not part of my exit loan counseling. This is a non-issue. The school needs to improve their communication with borrowers.

How could the city court judge rule in favor of the school but soares states that it never went to court. There appears to be a major discepancy here. either it went to court and a judge ruled in the schools favor or it didn’t. you would think this could be verified. I don’t care that he may have had financial problems and took care of them, I am more concerned with who is lying the times union or soares team. I would like this answered before I vote.

I’m still waiting to hear if Kindlon supports the financial rape of Mrs. Porco his ambulance chasing father who files appeal after appeal trying to get that murderer off and padding his own vacation fund with what little money teh Porcos have left.

How does Soares look at himself in the mirror. How can someone do so many messed up things and be able come out in public. Has the man no shame? Every time I see another story like this I just shake my head.

I would rather vote for a DA with a financial problems than a man whose family has destroyed many people in the Capital Area, because of them there are many people who suffer financial hell. I could never no matter what vote for Kindlon for what he did recently to a brutally raped woman, to say in his closing argument after all the evidence say she moaned for it, she asked for it, she wanted it. Those comments make me sick. He has defended the worst of the worst at any cost with no regard to a victims suffering! To associate with people like ACO says alot about his character, heartless and ruthless!

Robert, then what you are saying is soares campaign is lying and not being called on it. Like I said his owing the money and then being taken to court to get him repay the money doesn’t bother me. This happens to people. I am bothered by the lies from the campaign and based on this I will be voting for Kindlon.

I could never no matter what vote for Kindlon for what he did recently to a brutally raped woman, to say in his closing argument after all the evidence say she moaned for it, she asked for it, she wanted it. Those comments make me sick.

Mr. Soares appears to be in a heap of trouble day after day. If it isn’t that he is a party to yet another lawsuit, it’s a centure or involvement in a scandal. Where does he find the time to fulfill duty as an “administrator”? To hand out $100,000+ in bonuses? To participate in depositions? To chase President Obama around town. I don’t know about you but I think that those bonuses were zingers. Not what you would expect in the financial climate that exists today. Not when Mr. McCoy has a hiring freeze in place. The list goes on and on….one never knows what the next day will bring….

Student Loan Default….Was there not in the recent past another member of the District Attorney’s Office involved in a loan “situation” with the NYS Dept of Higher Education? When an individual applies for any position with the government, there is a question as to whether a person has defaulted on student loans. Perhaps, all govenment employees should be routinely screened to ensure they are not in default of their student loans since taking a government position. Perhaps we can start with Mr. McCoy and Mayor Jennings screening their employees on an annual or bi-annual basis. Seems like a win-win situation to me!

I thought newspapers played a role in holding people accountable. Journalist to me should be objective and without an agenda. I am very disappointed in the Times Union. What must be being said about The Times Union at the water coolers at other news outlets?

Seems to me that Mr. Soares has been inventing the law, ignoring the law, hiding from the law, defying the law, misinterpreting the law… at this point…I am not even sure he knows any law. Well…maybe he will by the end of the lawsuit he is currently involved in. It may turn out to be the most time he ever spends in court! At least he is getting a bit of trial experience under his belt. Unfortunately, we as taxpayers are going to foot the bill. At least the Florida newspapers will cover the trial so we will actually know what is going on with Mr. Soares while he is in the Sunshine state.

Soares has been sanctioned in court as DA. Inappropriate relations with young female on his STAFF; steriod conviction that he championed out of state tossed; shredding EVIDENCE; second highest crime rate in the state and he has no trial experience. ALL this and more reported by times union but they endorce him? NEED a napkin to wipe that egg of your face times union?

This is the reason that people don’t vote, because there is no worthy candidate. Both of these guys are no better than the people they represent/put away. Soares has more questionable issues going on than anyone can keep track of and Kindlon….well, #9 says it all. Disgusting.

This reminds me of the last presidential election, who should I vote for an Old man (McCain) who looks ike he is ready to die, or someone with no experience (Obama). We can’t come up with 2 better qualified people than a person who sleeps with subordinates, looks for crimes out of state, or a person that is acting like a low life, giving other people’s SSN numbers out.

Give me Romney/Ryan this time, and find someone better than Kindlon. definitely don’t want to be stuck with Soares again, might as well just not vote.

Anyone who can be critical of a public defender is out of touch with reality. The legal system is a very lucrative field and yet many attorneys realize the larger group of people who need legal help are those that can’t afford it. I hear people say all the time,”how can you defend someone like that?” referring to the “bad guys” but it is honorable to stand up for someone’s legal rights in spite of the odds because this is America. Indigent people lose most of the time in case you didn’t notice but at least there are people who are proud to do service for the public and community. Lee Kindlon has served his country and his community and that I can respect.

If you don’t like the candidates for DA, how about considering the Republican line ever in this county?
If you feel things are headed in the right direction and have been run well for the last century under Democratic rule, Keep voting Dem!

It doesn’t make sense that he would just ignore it. It also seems strange that it took so long for them to hunt him down. I know others who have defaulted on student loans and believe me, they do not give up. I think Sallie Mae would hunt you down and take your first born if they could.

Politics and politicians in Albany….. are so honorable. If they cannot win on the issues they resort to character assassination. And, they do so thinking that we supposedly dumb voters do not know any better. Somehow, I find that attitude to be very insulting.

Well, if anti-justice and anti-American Gary Stiglemeir ruled against Mr. Soares, that means that jerry the King Of Albany (in his own mind) Jennings is against Mr. Soares, as King Gary and King jerry (and King Apple) think they are above those they serve, unlike Mr. Soares, whom protects our supreme inviolate constitution, so, assuming that the posts are true, any American-minded person, regardless of race, socio-economic standing, etceteras, will likely vote for Mr. Soares, based upon what he stands for. He understands that he is our servant and he has proven to US that he values the importance of that concept.

This issue is small potatoes. It’s obvious that there was an administrative mistake. Also, to be frank, I have known a lot of lawyers and they share one trait–they are lousy at keeping track of their own paper trails. Piles of envelopes back in the day when everything came in the mail. Similar piles of manila folders and files on desks that look like the morning after a herd of elephants ran through a Staples warehouse. So, this looks like a non-issue to me. Indeed, his judgment re: the office mate looks faulty. But, in the same vein as the above, these people work hard and long hours. Like many people, their social lives often are limited to work buddies. And their work gets in the way of office housekeeping. Focus on something that’s actually important.

This just shows how stupid people really are. How long has Mr. Soares been a public official? Quite a while and the financial aid office workers at the law school couldn’t track him down about a bill, did they try calling his office! How many times has he probably been over to the Albany Law School and no one could have stopped him in the hallway and talked to him about it!? People are so lazy in their jobs! BTW I do not live in Albany, I live in a far worse city……….Schenectady!

Nobody cares about this – the story about his loan not being bundled is very plausible – things like that happen all the time. I agree, the school should improve its policies and procedures and communications.

Must be a slow news day. This happened to me too. I had a trustees loan and received no info on the loan, despite inquiring. The only info I received was a letter saying I was in default. I’m certain there are better reasons not to vote for Soares than this. I think it should be a cautionary tale for law students.

Private student loans, and private loans made by schools or trustee’s are separate, not one in the same, they are not elgible for such type of consolidation as federal loans. They are different types of obligations with different interest rates and separated by to whom and how they get paid back. It is very unlikely that such a loan would be consolidated or “Bundled”.

That information is available to all borrowers in the disclosure statements they are asked to read and sign and followed by more detailed information that can be found on a students award letter. Although it is common that few student borrowers do not read or pay attention to the details of the instruments used to get the money, it by law does not make them a criminal.

Details of this type of educational borrowing are important for every student to understand. It is a matter of paying attention to the very important details or asking an expert when there is some confusion. Albany Law School has a top-notch reputation, they have top notch Finanical aid experts helping their students and going over award letters with them, going over disclosures, and providing transparency to its fullest.

It is a tad shameful that the Law School got pulled into this article of political despair and character faulting. Fact of the matter is that loan that needed to get repaid will make money available for yet another candidate for the law program.

I understand this is about the race for DA, when it comes to your personal vote – you be the Judge. DETAILS!